Social and Political

RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about Iran, North Korea, and trade, the White House said late on December 21. White House spokesman Judd Deere did not offer specifics on the leaders’ discussions on Iran. Kyodo news service said the call lasted one hour and 15 minutes. Abe told reporters the …

CHRI – UN Press Release, – UN human rights experts* today called on the Iranian authorities to release all individuals arbitrarily detained and mistreated during recent protests, and expressed concerns over the hundreds of people who have been killed. “We are shocked at reports of the ill-treatment of those detained during the protests that took place in November 2019, and …

CHRI – Nine Labor Rights Activists and Journalists Sentenced to Prison Without Right to Appeal Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi Eliminated Appeal Process with Supreme Leader’s Blessing Nine labor activists were each sentenced to five years in prison on December 14, 2019, on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security” at Branch 36 of the Appeals Court in Tehran without the …

Radiofarda – Iran’s Prosecutor General announced that “many of those detained” in the November protests across Iran have been indicted and their trials will begin next week. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri also said those who “could be freed” have already been released from prison. Iran has so far refused to disclose the number of the detainees or give any information about …

Radiofarda – While 70 countries improved their human freedom ranking in the past year, Iran remained in the 154th place among the 162 countries in the Human Freedom Index (HFI). The index which measures personal, civil and economic freedom at a global level, covers areas such as rule of law, security and safety, size of government, property rights, religion, civil …

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has barred dozens of well-known reformist figures from running for the Iranian parliament (Majles) in the upcoming election in February. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on Wednesday December 18 that the ministry’s executive committee for elections has endorsed the qualification of 91 percent of over 16,000 candidates for the 290 seats in the …

Iran-HRM – The scale of the crimes the Iranian regime committed in cracking down on Iran protests in November becomes more evident every day. More than 1,500 have been killed by security forces, plainclothes agents and Revolutionary Guards. Over 4,000 have been wounded and at least 12,000 arrested and detained. Actual figures must be considered much higher. Many cases have not been registered due …

RFL/RE – Iranian President Hassan Rohani has kicked off a visit to Japan, as Tokyo seeks to mediate between Iran and the United States amid heightened tensions between the two countries.Rohani is the first Iranian leader to visit the East Asian country in nearly two decades. His trip comes after Shinzo Abe became in June the first Japanese prime minister …

WASHINGTON — The United States is implementing additional restrictive measures on Iran for what it says are ongoing human rights abuses, following a deadly crackdown last month on protesters in Tehran and more than 100 other cities and towns.At a panel discussion on the topic in Washington that he hosted, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on December 19 …

RFL/RE — European lawmakers have passed a resolution denouncing the “widespread and disproportionate” use of force by Iranian security forces against nonviolent protesters. The nonbinding resolution adopted on December 19 demands that all protesters, human rights defenders, and journalists currently held behind bars “for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and assembly” be released unconditionally.Iran is facing international …